Wesley BaldwinOn May 29, 1913, a musical meteor hit Europe and set off shockwaves that changed the course of music forever.
That meteor was Igor Stravinsky’s orchestral music for the ballet, “The Rite of Spring” (Le Sacre du Printemps), and it ushered in the era of modern music. As no self-respecting orchestra would fail to program this seminal work in its centennial year, the Chattanooga Symphony joined a long list of distinguished ensembles to bring the work to life (even if a bit tardily) on Thursday evening at the Tivoli Theater. Led by Music Director Kayoko Dan, the Chattanooga Symphony concluded its Masterworks Series for the season with an all-Russian program.
Composer Dmitri Shostakovich was a creative type who was unfortunate enough to live under the repressive Stalinist regime in the Soviet Union during midcentury. From time to time, his composing style didn’t seem to meet the Communist demands of “Socialist Realism” and he was denounced in the press and had to undergo humiliating, public penance on more than one occasion.
Things got a little better under Nikita Khrushchev, giving Shostakovich more creative breathing room.
Part of his output during this period included “Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, Op. 107” (1959) which scored an immediate success. It contains a mix of the composer’s often stark, brooding, and propulsive music, performed on Thursday by guest artist Wesley Baldwin. Baldwin boasts an impressive resume of solo, chamber, and orchestral playing as well as recording, and his varied teaching career presently finds him as a professor of music at UT, Knoxville.